


Deep in the Meadow

by live_laugh_read



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26301142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/live_laugh_read/pseuds/live_laugh_read
Summary: What Rue's family would have seen and felt upon watching her die in the Hunger Games, and their gratitude toward the girl from 12 who cared for her at the end of her life.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Deep in the Meadow

Rue was thrashing about in the net, visibly panicking. Her screams, loud in the quiet arena, tore at Cob's heart. Standing in the small crowd in the square with the Games on the big screen, he was powerless to do anything but watch as his daughter struggled.

Out of the edge of the screen burst her ally, Katniss Everdeen from District 12. Cob was grateful to the older girl, for taking Rue under her wing, protecting her and boosting her confidence.

Katniss fell to her knees, whipping out her knife in a fluent motion and sawing through the strands of the net. Rue had calmed down, knowing she was being rescued, and it was quick work for the knife to cut the net free. Sobbing, Rue threw herself into Katniss' arms and they hugged one another tightly.

A sound behind them made Katniss start, and the camera panned to see a tribute appear from the undergrowth. Cob recognised him as Marvel, the male from District 1, one of the Careers. Whilst he was known for his skill with weaponry, stealth was not one of his talents.

Marvel pulled a knife from his belt and threw it at the girls, Katniss pulling Rue down just in time as it whizzed over their heads. She swung her bow off her shoulder and pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocking and taking aim in the space of a second.

With unerring accuracy, Katniss' arrow pierced Marvel's heart and he fell backward, but as he did so he flung his hands outward - the spear he was holding a second before wasn't there.

Beside Cob, Rosemary gasped, her hands covering her mouth, as she realised the implications of the scene. The camera swung back towards the girls, just in time to see Rue slowly pull a spear from her heart, her face showing disbelief. Cob could hardly breathe, his heart hammering in his chest.

"No - no!" Katniss caught Rue as the younger girl's body crumpled, and she cradled Rue's head in her lap. "Rue, no!" One hand gently spread Rue's jacket apart, feeling out the injury.

Rue whimpered, shivering a little. "You need to win," she whispered.

"I will," Katniss breathed. "I'll win for the both of us." As if in the distance, a muffled cannon boomed, signalling Marvel's death.

"Stay with me? Sing to me?" Rue gasped, looking up at Katniss.

Katniss held her carefully, tears slipping down her cheek, and sang.

_Deep in the meadow,_

_Under the willow,_

_A bed of grass,_

_A soft green pillow._

As she sang, Rue's breathing slowed, the life force slipping from her. Cob reached out his right hand, feeling Rosemary grasp it. Ever since their daughter had been reaped, this moment had been inevitable. It didn't make it any easier, though.

_Lay down your head,_

_And close your eyes._

_And when they open,_

_The sun will rise..._

Katniss' voice trailed off, and there was silence. Not even the birds were singing.

Slowly, the District 12 tribute laid Rue down on the leaves. With shaking hands, she zipped up Rue's jacket, arranging her hands just so. In the next second, an idea seemed to strike her, and she abruptly stood and walked in the direction of some flowers nearby.

Painstakingly, carefully, Katniss arranged the brightly-coloured flowers around Rue. Finally, she lifted Rue's hands and eased a bunch into the younger girl's grip, and then laid them down on Rue's chest. Her injury was not visible underneath the flowers, and to all the world it appeared as if Rue was just sleeping.

Rosemary was sobbing, and Cob reached out with an arm to pull her into a hug, his eyes never leaving the screen. Gratitude swelled in his heart for the girl from 12, for doing what he and his wife could not. For ensuring his little girl wasn't alone at the end.

On screen, Katniss stood, backing away from Rue's body as if she couldn't bear to look away. The engines of the Capitol hovercraft above were audible, preparing to descend and fetch Rue away.

Katniss turned toward where she thought the camera must be, and for a moment, on opposite sides of the screen, she made eye contact with Cob. She lifted the three fingers of her left hand to her lips, and then raised them toward the camera.

_I'm sorry. I tried. She's safe now. Sleeping._

As one, the small gathering of District 11 citizens returned the gesture, holding their fingers up toward the large screen on the stage.

Overcome with a sudden rage toward the Capitol, Cob released Rosemary and turned to push through the crowd. He could see one of the lights that illuminated the square ahead of him, and he rushed towards it, picking it up and heaving it with all his strength to the ground.

Even as the Peacekeepers moved to subdue him, men from around him joined him in finding the nearest Capitol-operated equipment and destroying it. For some minutes, Cob did not know how long, chaos reigned in the square of District 11.

When it was over, Cob was on his knees in front of the ruined screen, sobbing and screaming. His heart felt as though it was being torn asunder.

Rue would never come home again.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write this as soon as I re-watched the first Hunger Games movie a couple of days ago and watched the scene where District 11 return the salute, and then a man I presume to be Rue's father starts a fight. I wanted to explore the feelings surrounding that scene and their perspective of Katniss Everdeen. 
> 
> To them, she was just the girl from 12, who protected Rue for as long as she could.


End file.
